Flanders Fall Festival To Feature Live Animals, Music & Magic

WOODBURY — On Sunday, October 7, Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust will host its 27th annual Fall Festival from 10 am to 4 pm at the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary, at the corner of Flanders and Church Hill Roads.

The event will feature a wide variety of nature- and farm-related displays and activities, including hayrides and guided nature walks, as well as entertainment by performers of music and magic. A wide variety of exhibitors will display arts and crafts, and artisans will give ongoing demonstrations in jewelry-making and bullwhip-making.

“Rainforest Reptile Show” will be on hand to let children meet and interact with a variety of species ranging from insects, frogs, snakes and lizards to four larger animals including the American alligator. Everyone will have the opportunity to handle both the snakes and alligator after the program.

Talons:  A Bird of Prey Experience will exhibit even more wildlife. Their program features amazing flight demonstrations of raptors such as owls, falcons, crows and hawks.

The Connecticut-based musical group Sirius Coyote will present a family-oriented concert that celebrates the preservation of traditional cultures, ecological awareness, and the creative spirit of the community. They perform original, traditional, and contemporary music played on more than 30 ethnic and modern instruments, many of which they make themselves. Their lively repertoire brings together the sounds of various cultures of the Americas with those of natural environments, and the dance rhythms of the Caribbean islands.

Audience participation is encouraged through sing-along, clapping, dancing and music making. They have recorded six cassettes and two CDS of their music, which will be available to purchase. Sirius Coyote will perform from 1 to 2 pm at the Trail House.

Magician Peter James, who has specialized in entertaining children for over 18 years, will perform his sleights-of-hand. Mr James performs yearly for the United Way, Boy Scouts of America, and is a member of The Society of American Magicians and The International Magician Society. The Off Beats, a drumming group specializing in African and Middle Eastern rhythms, will perform at 3 pm at the Trail House.

Admission to The Flanders Fall Fest, held rain or shine, is $7 per adult and $3 per child ages 6 to 12; children ages 5 and under and members will be admitted free. All proceeds will go toward supporting Flanders environmental education and land trust programs.

For more details call 203-263-3711, extension 10, or visit Flanders’ website at FlandersNatureCenter.org.